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I don't think you ever gave me a straight answer when I asked how you can rationalize being vegetarian and not vegan.

First of all, I don't have any problem admitting that I lack the conviction to go full vegan.

With that said, the main point I want to stress is that I believe that vegetarianism is a very distinct line that you can draw where you can truthfully say you are doing your part to prevent animal cruelty. By being a vegetarian, you are committing to a lifestyle that, if embraced by all of society, would result in the eventual end of all preventable animal cruelty. Once everyone accepts the principal that all animals have the right to life, society will move towards eliminating preventable animal cruelty altogether.

By being a vegetarian, I am not supporting any industries in which animals will die simply because of the very nature of that industry. Egg-laying chickens may die because of poor conditions at farms due to lax regulations, but still, there is a crucial difference between supporting such a farm and the beef industry.

To be honest, the principal behind your question is one that I often wonder when I meet someone who refuses to eat veal but eats other meat. In that situation, I think it's safe to say that this person's actions are contradicting their stated beliefs.

Also: Imagine if a really rich person paid another person that they trust to be a vegetarian for the rest of their life on their behalf. Just so they can continue to eat meat while feeling like they've done their part to prevent animal cruelty.

I'm actually eating only vegan this week as a sort of trial run. I would like to become vegan when i finally move out.

I think there's even less conviction for me to go vegan, as farms here are definitely not as industrialised as those in the US. But I still feel guilt, as still, animals still suffer (if more indirectly). I'm starting to sound like I'm pushing my views now, but I'm not. I really couldn't care what people choose to eat, so long as they don't care what I choose to eat.

And basically, people don't think of cows/pigs/sheep/chickens etc. and think "awh, I'd love one of those for a pet". People have a pretty impressive ability to draw lines between different species. Despite pigs being just as intelligent as dogs.

I think people should butcher what they want to eat. By that we'd get rid of MacDonalds and similar franchises that take a lot of resources like water, food, energy and space and who are the main reason for minimum wage and a lot of other exploitation. People would know what they eat, what the animals get to eat and so on. Probably a lot less meds, steroids and chemicals would be involved. People would acutually care of the animals they eat, at least I guess so. Like in the good ol' days WITHOUT MacDonalds. I've eaten a burger once this month at McDs still.

Do you think you‘d sell your soul
To just have one thing to turn out right?

I do not have a problem with eating meat, but I do avoid commercial mass-produced shit. I almost never eat at McDonalds, and when I eat in restaurants, I usually order vegetarian dishes. At home, I rarely eat meat, besides the occasional tuna and the occasional klobasa/kielbasa. I basically eat meat when I'm being served food by other people, and most people I know go for very natural ingredients, and get their food/meat from local farms or similar. I don't think it's wrong to kill particular kinds of animals for meat - but I care that the animal got a somewhat decent life first. I respect my friends who are vegetarian - it takes conviction and work - but I don't feel the need to be. Maybe if I still lived in the US, where most meat is mass-produced from shitty farms where animals are treated like absolute shit, I'd really consider it... but I'm less worried about that here.

By the way, I hate the, "I eat meat to stay healthy" excuse. No, you don't. You don't need meat to be healthy. If you're too lazy to learn how to cook healthy food without meat, admit it. Plus, most people who say that eat burgers and hot dogs and tons of meat that is not for being healthy.